L.A. Saddle Fitters

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas to all my friends, family & clients! 🥂😆 Donald got into the Christmas spirit - AI style 🤣🎄

05/11/2025

29/10/2025

Should your saddle move around on your horse’s back?

This saddle in the pic? It moved a lot. It was too wide, sat low at the front, pinged up at the back and loaded pressure through the points. Basically a seesaw on legs = 🚫 not ok. It’s going to make that horse sore, and the rider feel like they’re being slapped on the bottom on every rise (not to mention crunching their more delicate area on the pommel).

But… saddles can’t be expected to be completely still. Cos, horses’ backs move. Whilst the part of the back the saddle is on (the thoracic part) has less movement than the rest of the spine, there is still some movement there. They’re not planks of wood.

The saddle? It’s a fixed entity, it can’t mirror every rise and fall, every squiggle and wiggle. So some movement between horse and saddle is perfectly normal.
What I look for when I watch a rider:
➡️ From behind: a soft swing left–centre–right–centre as the ribs move.
➡️ From the side: a correct amount of stillness but will accept a bit of movement at the back, especially in trot. Depending on the horse/rider.

When does it tip into “too much”? That’s where it gets spicy. Nervous/novice riders gripping with their knees can yoink the saddle up, some horses fling their back legs in a way that flicks the saddle up at the back… whilst others are so still you’d think they were carved out of wood.
And then there’s jumping – if a saddle glued itself to the horse in the bascule, it’d bridge for all the other work.

So yeah, it’s not black and white. It’s why Saddle Fitters train for years to develop that “eye” for what’s acceptable and what’s not.

But if I had to give you the short version?

A little bit of movement can be normal. Slapping and clip-clapping is not.

Concerned about your saddle? Get your fitter out and let them talk you through it.

✌🏽
###

18/09/2025

Wanted! Irish Draft or IDx type gelding for specialist role in our award winning RDA group. A competition experienced horse is sought.

We are seeking a special 16hh to 16.2 gelding with good length of back and weight carrying capacity for a varied therapeutic and competitive role. The right horse will have competition experience, load and travel well in a trailer and be a sensible 'neither up nor down' type when out and about. Must fundamentally really love being around people and enjoy being loved, groomed and fussed, be great to handle in the stable, having rock solid, established ground manners. We are looking for a horse that can 'be and feel' safe for a novice or nervous person, but is schooled enough to be an obedient, balanced ride in low level walk trot dressage tests with our competitive riders. We also compete in para equestrian vaulting (walk only), so the right horse will be established on the lunge and not mind people moving around on his back (we can train the rest). If you have a gem of a gelding who has the temperament to enjoy spending time with our dementia clients, would be safe to handle by disabled teens learning horse care and is schooled and life experienced enough to take our competitive riders out to dressage and vaulting competitions, we can offer a caring, knowledgeable home in Central Scotland. We are open to loan or purchase and would really love to find our next special horse this autumn.

10/09/2025

It’s the time of year for my fave colours 🍂🤎 Pairing loafers with the stunning Tote! Effortlessly beautiful✨